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By Michael Reeve / Q-101 Merritt

COVID-19

Opposition B.C. Liberals, MLA Tegart call for greater COVID-19 transparency in schools

Jan 13, 2021 | 10:30 AM

MERRITT, B.C. — The B.C. Liberals are calling on the NDP government to increase transparency around the reporting of COVID-19 cases, especially in schools, long-term care facilities, and hospitals.

“Access to clear, consistent, and understandable data is essential in helping people better understand the risks of this virus and make more informed decisions as we enter the second year of this pandemic,” said Renee Merrifield, BC Liberal Health Critic and MLA for Kelowna-Mission. “Although there has been some progress in recent weeks, the B.C. government remains far behind other jurisdictions in providing frequent, granular data to the public, and it is having negative impacts on British Columbians.”

Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart, Opposition Critic for Education, joined Q101 to discuss the call for transparency around positive cases in schools.

“Right now, parents are asking for information to make decisions for the safety of their children in schools, families want to know more so they can provide the best possible care for at-risk family members — people want to be able to make evidence-based decisions,” said Tegart, BC Liberal Education Critic and MLA for Fraser-Nicola. “Data is a vital tool that can help promote greater compliance with public health orders and help reassure British Columbians they have the information necessary to make the best decisions for their families.”

For an example of the inconsistent reporting of positive cases in schools, Merritt Secondary has sent home two letters to parents this week confirming a pair of COVID-19 cases, however, the outbreak remains absent from the Interior Health Authorities school exposure list.

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Tegart spoke to those challenges leading to parents creating their own online databases for school exposures around the province.

“That fabulous that parents are doing that, but that shows the concern that there is out there in the public. People are looking for this information, they need it to make good decisions for their families. And it’s a shame that the government hasn’t responded in a way that satisfies the need for information. We know when there is an information gap, if the government doesn’t transparently report then others will fill in that gap,” added Tegart.

“The education sector was asked to put plans together on a very short timeframe. They are doing their absolute best to provide quality education in our schools, but the government needs to support that, and they need to listen to their voices,” concluded Tegart.

The calls for better transparency were outlined in a letter sent by Tegart and Merrifield to BC Health Minister Adrian Dix.